Five Ways to Make the Most of Advent

Next Sunday, November 27, marks the beginning of Advent, the season of hopeful, joyful longing as we wait for the birth of our Lord. This beautiful time of year, which some people refer to as a “mini-Lent,” is an opportunity for purposeful spiritual growth. While both seasons are penitential, the focus during Advent is less on redemptive suffering and more on readying our hearts for His coming. There are many ways to make the most of the season, treasure its real meaning, and grow ever closer to God.

Add a Spiritual Practice to Your Daily Routine

Consider reading a chapter from a spiritual book each day, attending daily Mass, listening to and praying the Rosary on the way to work, even praying each time you eat that piece of chocolate out of the Advent calendar. With daily practice, you will begin to find yourself discovering the divine in every part of your day while strengthening your faith. These practices can become tradition for you and your family from year to year and bring a deeper meaning to the days leading up to Christmas.

Set Aside Time for Silence

If prayer is a conversation with God, that means part of the conversation involves listening. To enter into silence, find a quiet place and remove all distractions. Remove all judgments, as well, about your ability to concentrate. It is okay if at first all you can do is notice the sounds around you. Perhaps eventually you will try visualizing a quiet, peaceful scene, like the divine silence in the hours after Jesus was born, as He slept in Mary’s arm. When I was a child, I liked to lie under the Christmas tree at night and breathe in the pine, imagining the silent world inside each ornament. Whatever practice allows you silence, use it as an opportunity to quiet your inner mind and hear God more clearly.

Go on a Mini Retreat

A retreat need not be costly nor time intensive; there are ways to retreat from the material world that require less investment (especially in the middle of the holiday shopping season, when such retreat is particularly needed). A local parish may be offering a retreat experience, or you could create your own using a guide. Here is an online retreat that follows the path of the Magi; here is one you can do via your daily email; here is one that examines both the saints and the Holy Days which follow Christmas; the folks at PrayMoreNovenas.com have their own Advent Retreat, the Pray More Advent Retreat. Or here is a teeny-tiny, $2.50 book of Bishop Fulton Sheen’s Advent reflections that can guide a retreat. As you can see, lack of time or convenience is no longer a reason not to journey on retreat during the Advent season.

Rediscover Old Traditions

There are many beautiful traditions associated with the Advent season. Perhaps the most easily recognized is the lighting of the Advent wreath each Sunday, with its one pink and three purple candles. Some families have a tradition of slowly adding pieces to their nativity set over the weeks, culminating in placing Jesus in the manger on Christmas Eve. I know a group of nuns who move the Wise Men in their set closer as the weeks pass. Similarly, a way to unplug and reconnect with family and friends is to have a big Sunday dinner each of the Sundays of Lent. If you’re already celebrating these traditions, I encourage you to go deeper this year and discover how each tradition began, why they are celebrated, and have a conversation with your family and friends about what you learn.

Serve Others

Much of the holiday season is spent thinking of presents and the material aspect of Christmas, and seeking out ways to serve others is the perfect antidote. During the season there is no shortage of soup kitchens and donation centers in need of help, and it is an opportunity to bond with family and friends, as well as meet new people. By serving others, we are in essence serving God and His Son. As Christians we must strive to see the face of Jesus in all we meet; during Advent is the perfect time to prepare oneself to meet Jesus by meeting Him in others.

Always remember that observing Advent is not a competition, it is about doing what you can to go inward, examine your life and relationships, and reset your innermost self to be more aligned with Him.

I will close with the prayer said in honor of St. Andrew, whose feast day is at the beginning of Advent, on November 30, and which perfectly expresses the beauty of this season:

Hail and blessed be the hour and moment

In which the Son of God was born

Of the most pure Virgin Mary,

at midnight, in Bethlehem,

in the piercing cold.

In that hour vouchsafe, I beseech Thee,

O my God,

to hear my prayer and grant my desires,

[here mention your request]

through the merits of Our Savior Jesus Christ,

and of His Blessed Mother.

Amen.